IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/bba/j00001/v2y2023i4p123-139d120.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

On the Role of the Digital Industry in Reshaping Urban Economic Structure: the Case of Hangzhou, China

Author

Listed:
  • Xuliang Zhang

    (Center for Research of Private Economy, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, China)

  • Chenxiang Elaine Ji

    (School of Public Finance and Taxation, Zhejiang University of Finance & Economics, Hangzhou, China)

  • Haixia Zhang

    (School of Tourism Management and Urban-rural Planning, Zhejiang Gongshang University, Hangzhou, China)

  • Yuchen Wei

    (School of Geography, Nanjing Normal University, Nanjing, China)

  • Jianwei Jin

    (Hangzhou City Planning and Design Academy, Hangzhou, China)

Abstract

The digital economy industry plays a transformative role in reshaping the global production networks, the local division of production, and the integration and innovation of business forms. However, to what extent the industry enables the high-quality development and upgrading of urban economies is unclear. Based on the census data of digital economy enterprises in Hangzhou in 2008, 2013 and 2018, this paper verifies the characteristics of the digital economy industry and its enabling mechanism for high-quality urban economic development. It is found that: firstly, the digital economy industry has three main forms for the economy, namely, the sharing, scale and scope economy. Secondly, the industry has four major mechanisms to improve the quality of urban economies. That is, it can restructure the global industrial division of labor and value chains, promote the transformation of scale economy from the supply side to the demand side, enable the softening and servitization of industrial structure, and generate the scale of economies. This paper thus contributes to understanding the evolution of enterprise organizational structure and industrial competitiveness and the endogenous technological change under the digital economy.

Suggested Citation

  • Xuliang Zhang & Chenxiang Elaine Ji & Haixia Zhang & Yuchen Wei & Jianwei Jin, 2023. "On the Role of the Digital Industry in Reshaping Urban Economic Structure: the Case of Hangzhou, China," Journal of Economic Analysis, Anser Press, vol. 2(4), pages 123-139, July.
    • Handle: RePEc:bba:j00001:v:2:y:2023:i:4:p:123-139:d:120
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://www.anserpress.org/journal/jea/2/4/42/pdf
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://www.anserpress.org/journal/jea/2/4/42
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Yin, Zhichao & Gong, Xue & Guo, Peiyao & Wu, Tao, 2019. "What Drives Entrepreneurship in Digital Economy? Evidence from China," Economic Modelling, Elsevier, vol. 82(C), pages 66-73.
    2. Eva Arceo & Rema Hanna & Paulina Oliva, 2016. "Does the Effect of Pollution on Infant Mortality Differ Between Developing and Developed Countries? Evidence from Mexico City," Economic Journal, Royal Economic Society, vol. 126(591), pages 257-280, March.
    3. Leonardo Becchetti & Fabrizio Adriani, 2005. "Does the digital divide matter? The role of information and communication technology in cross-country level and growth estimates," Economics of Innovation and New Technology, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 14(6), pages 435-453.
    4. Janeba, Eckhard, 2007. "International trade and consumption network externalities," European Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 51(4), pages 781-803, May.
    5. Ron Boschma & Koen Frenken, 2011. "The emerging empirics of evolutionary economic geography," Journal of Economic Geography, Oxford University Press, vol. 11(2), pages 295-307, March.
    6. Han Chu & Robert Hassink & Dixiang Xie & Xiaohui Hu, 2023. "Placing the platform economy: the emerging, developing and upgrading of Taobao villages as a platform-based place making phenomenon in China," Cambridge Journal of Regions, Economy and Society, Cambridge Political Economy Society, vol. 16(2), pages 319-334.
    7. Emmanouil Tranos & Tasos Kitsos & Raquel Ortega-Argilés, 2021. "Digital economy in the UK: regional productivity effects of early adoption," Regional Studies, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 55(12), pages 1924-1938, December.
    8. Beatriz Tovar & Alan Wall, 2012. "Economies of scale and scope in service firms with demand uncertainty: An application to a Spanish port," Maritime Economics & Logistics, Palgrave Macmillan;International Association of Maritime Economists (IAME), vol. 14(3), pages 362-385, September.
    9. Gautier, Axel & Lamesch, Joe, 2021. "Mergers in the digital economy," Information Economics and Policy, Elsevier, vol. 54(C).
    10. Ma, Dan & Zhu, Qing, 2022. "Innovation in emerging economies: Research on the digital economy driving high-quality green development," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 145(C), pages 801-813.
    11. Hu, Xiaohui & Wu, Qianbo & Xu, Wei & Li, Yuwen, 2022. "Specialty towns in China: Towards a typological policy approach," Land Use Policy, Elsevier, vol. 114(C).
    12. Jonathan Jones, 2017. "Agglomeration economies and the location of foreign direct investment: A meta-analysis," Journal of Regional Science, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 57(5), pages 731-757, November.
    13. Andrew Currah, 2006. "Hollywood versus the Internet: the media and entertainment industries in a digital and networked economy," Journal of Economic Geography, Oxford University Press, vol. 6(4), pages 439-468, August.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Li, Zihao & Yuan, Bingbing & Bai, Tingting & Dong, Xu & Wu, Haitao, 2024. "Shooting two hawks with one arrow: The role of digitization on the coordinated development of resources and environment," Resources Policy, Elsevier, vol. 90(C).
    2. Tao, Yunqing & Wang, Dianjie & Ye, Yongwei & Wu, Haitao & Zhang, Yao, 2023. "The role of public environmental concern on corporate social responsibility: Evidence from search index of web users," Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 126(C).
    3. Yang, Zhenghan & Wei, Changjing & Fang, Zhen & Song, Xiaowei & Shi, Yang, 2024. "What role green finance and natural resources play for energy transition in ASEAN nations? A pathway to mitigating environmental degradation," Technological Forecasting and Social Change, Elsevier, vol. 205(C).
    4. Han, Zhanbing & Heng, Yixin, 2024. "Do fintech and trade diversification discard the natural resource dependency in MENA countries?," Resources Policy, Elsevier, vol. 89(C).
    5. Rong, Liu & Wang, Zhenbo & Li, Zhijun, 2024. "Unraveling the role of Financial Risk, social globalization and Economic Risk towards attaining sustainable environment in China: Does resources curse still holds," Resources Policy, Elsevier, vol. 88(C).
    6. Zhang, Zhihe & Hou, Yufei & Zhang, Zesen & Li, Mulin, 2023. "Natural resources, carbon neutrality, and fiscal federalism: Implications for G7 countries amid rising Covid-19 concerns," Resources Policy, Elsevier, vol. 87(PA).
    7. Liu, Dongwang & Yang, Ziqi, 2024. "Asymmetric linkages among fintech, oil prices, governance, and growth in Southeast Asian economies," Resources Policy, Elsevier, vol. 88(C).
    8. Zaiyang Li & Muhammad Noshab Hussain & Shaohua Yang, 2024. "The Dynamics of Digitalization and Urban Development on the Growth of the Economy: A Panel Data Analysis," Journal of the Knowledge Economy, Springer;Portland International Center for Management of Engineering and Technology (PICMET), vol. 15(4), pages 19071-19086, December.
    9. Suping Xiao & Ping Zhou & Lin Zhou & Sike Wong, 2024. "Digital economy and urban economic resilience: The mediating role of technological innovation and entrepreneurial vitality," PLOS ONE, Public Library of Science, vol. 19(6), pages 1-17, June.
    10. Lee, Chien-Chiang & Zou, Jinyang, 2024. "Impacts of the energy transition on public health in the context of country risk: From an international perspective," Economic Analysis and Policy, Elsevier, vol. 83(C), pages 873-895.
    11. Qiao, Xiaole & He, Yang & Du, Qiang, 2025. "How does the urban digital economy drive labor allocation in China?—A perspective of factor mobility between digital and non-digital enterprises," Economic Analysis and Policy, Elsevier, vol. 85(C), pages 1159-1175.
    12. Zhang, Hongxi & Liu, Qiong & Lu, Donghui & Wang, Xiaoyu & Fan, Haiqin, 2023. "Sustainable development perspective of linking natural resources and human capital development: An overview of resources utilization," Resources Policy, Elsevier, vol. 86(PB).

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Guo, Bingnan & Wang, Yu & Zhang, Hao & Liang, Chunyan & Feng, Yu & Hu, Feng, 2023. "Impact of the digital economy on high-quality urban economic development: Evidence from Chinese cities," Economic Modelling, Elsevier, vol. 120(C).
    2. Zhao, Xiaoyang & Weng, Zongyuan, 2024. "Digital dividend or divide: The digital economy and urban entrepreneurial activity," Socio-Economic Planning Sciences, Elsevier, vol. 93(C).
    3. Suo, Xuekun & Zhang, Longting & Guo, Rong & Lin, Han & Yu, Mingchuan & Du, Xiuhong, 2024. "The inverted U-shaped association between digital economy and corporate total factor productivity: A knowledge-based perspective," Technological Forecasting and Social Change, Elsevier, vol. 203(C).
    4. Kun Liu & Xuemin Liu & Zihao Wu, 2024. "Nexus between Corporate Digital Transformation and Green Technological Innovation Performance: The Mediating Role of Optimizing Resource Allocation," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 16(3), pages 1-21, February.
    5. Shibo Gao & Jing Zhang & Zuopeng Ma & Guolei Zhou & Yanjun Liu & Yuliang Liu, 2025. "Digital Economy Development and Urban–Rural Integration in Northeast China: An Empirical Analysis," Land, MDPI, vol. 14(5), pages 1-24, May.
    6. Xiaoli Hao & Xinhui Wang & Haitao Wu & Yu Hao, 2023. "Path to sustainable development: Does digital economy matter in manufacturing green total factor productivity?," Sustainable Development, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 31(1), pages 360-378, February.
    7. Shen, Hongshan & Qin, Mengyao & Li, Tianyi & Zhang, Xuan & Zhao, Yang, 2024. "Digital finance and industrial structure upgrading: Evidence from Chinese counties," International Review of Financial Analysis, Elsevier, vol. 95(PB).
    8. Jia, Ce & Guo, Xiaodan & Tian, Ziyue & Xiao, Bowen, 2025. "Unintended consequences of SO2 mitigation: Increased PM and infant mortality in China," Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 144(C).
    9. Lingzhang Kong & Jinye Li, 2022. "Digital Economy Development and Green Economic Efficiency: Evidence from Province-Level Empirical Data in China," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(1), pages 1-26, December.
    10. Rehák Štefan & Hudec Oto & Buček Milan, 2013. "Path dependency and path plasticity in emerging industries: Two cases from Slovakia," ZFW – Advances in Economic Geography, De Gruyter, vol. 57(1-2), pages 52-66, October.
    11. Radoslaw Miskiewicz, 2022. "Clean and Affordable Energy within Sustainable Development Goals: The Role of Governance Digitalization," Energies, MDPI, vol. 15(24), pages 1-17, December.
    12. Yayun Ren & Jian Yu & Guanglai Zhang & Chang Zhang & Wenmei Liao, 2023. "The Short- and Long-Run Impacts of Air Pollution on Human Health: New Evidence from China," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 20(3), pages 1-23, January.
    13. Jin, Laiqun & Dai, Jiaying & Jiang, Weijie & Cao, Kairui, 2023. "Digital finance and misallocation of resources among firms: Evidence from China," The North American Journal of Economics and Finance, Elsevier, vol. 66(C).
    14. Prasanna Tambe & Lorin M. Hitt, 2014. "Measuring Information Technology Spillovers," Information Systems Research, INFORMS, vol. 25(1), pages 53-71, March.
    15. Aspers, Patrik & Kohl, Sebastian & Power, Dominic, 2008. "Economic sociology discovering economic geography," economic sociology. perspectives and conversations, Max Planck Institute for the Study of Societies, vol. 9(3), pages 3-16.
    16. Gao, Jie & Li, Zhizhuo & Nguyen, Thithuha & Zhang, Wentao, 2025. "Digital transformation and enterprise employment," International Review of Economics & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 99(C).
    17. Ran, Qiying & Yang, Xiaodong & Yan, Hongchuan & Xu, Yang & Cao, Jianhong, 2023. "Natural resource consumption and industrial green transformation: Does the digital economy matter?," Resources Policy, Elsevier, vol. 81(C).
    18. Ewa Lechman, 2012. "Technology convergence and digital divides. A country-level evidence for the period 2000–2010," Ekonomia journal, Faculty of Economic Sciences, University of Warsaw, vol. 31.
    19. Enrico Bergamini & Georg Zachmann, 2020. "Exploring EU’s Regional Potential in Low-Carbon Technologies," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(1), pages 1-28, December.
    20. Hui Yang & Xiangda Xu, 2024. "Coupling and Coordination Analysis of Digital Economy and Green Agricultural Development: Evidence from Major Grain Producing Areas in China," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 16(11), pages 1-29, May.

    More about this item

    Keywords

    ;
    ;
    ;
    ;
    ;

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:bba:j00001:v:2:y:2023:i:4:p:123-139:d:120. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Ramona Wang (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://www.anserpress.org .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.